Line-up

Marcin Wasilewski Trio

+ Special Guest: Emma Rawicz

Kings Place | Monday 15 September 2025 | 20:00

One of the most celebrated piano trios in contemporary jazz, Marcin Wasilewski Trio has been performing together in an unchanging line-up for over 30 years. Hailed by international critics and audiences alike, the group is known for its lyrical depth, masterful interplay, and unmistakable sound. The trio has released multiple acclaimed albums on ECM Records and collaborated with jazz greats including Tomasz Stańko, Joe Lovano and Charles Lloyd. In 2024 and 2025, they mark their 30th anniversary with a major international tour, continuing to carry the legacy of Polish jazz onto the global stage.

Anna Maria Jopek

+ Special Guest: Mark Kavuma

Cadogan Hall | Friday, 26 September 2025 | 19:00

A group of friends and passionate musicians. Every member of Jopek’s team is a frontman in their own projects. On stage, Anna Maria Jopek will be accompanied by: Dominik Wania (piano), Robert Kubiszyn (bass), and Paweł Dobrowolski (drums).
“Freedom and the boundlessness of imagination are what I love most about those I share the stage with,” says Jopek about her fellow musicians. Speaking about her music, she adds: “I carry within me the flat landscape of Mazovia, with all its melancholy and vastness.” The concert will feature Polish folk songs interpreted through jazz improvisations.

Anna Maria Jopek – born on December 14, 1970, in Warsaw. As the daughter of soloists from the renowned Mazowsze folk ensemble, she grew up surrounded by art. This artistic and folk heritage left a deep imprint on her musical sensitivity, and it remains an essential part of her work today. The stylistic framework of AMJ’s career is shaped by three major musical influences: a love of folk music inherited from her family, classical music education (she graduated in piano from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music), and a passion for jazz. These three elements, combined in varying proportions, have allowed Jopek’s music to evolve across a wide stylistic spectrum — from modern pop influences (especially in her early years), through her original, stylistically independent compositions, to what is often described today as “contemporary eclectic jazz.” A common feature across all her artistic work is an extraordinary attention to quality — whether in conceptual, performative, interpretive, or production aspects. It is this commitment to excellence, artistic integrity, and continuous growth that have led AMJ not only to collaborate with most of the key Polish artists but also to work with global jazz giants such as Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Makoto Ozone, and Richard Bona. Every AMJ concert is a small fragment of her artistic journey — one that she continues to explore with unwavering dedication.

Leszek Możdżer

+ Special Guest: Chiminyo

Cadogan Hall | Friday, 26 September 2025 | 19:00

Considered by many to be the most outstanding contemporary Polish pianist, composer, jazz musician and music producer, as well as creator of film music. His musical path began in childhood. Leszek Możdżer began learning to play the piano at the age of five. In 1996, he graduated from the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. He studied in Andrzej Artykiewicz’s studio.
Leszek Możdżer’s concerts have been performed in many countries, including the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Canada. He has collaborated with such performers and music groups as: Marcus Miller, Janusz Muniak, David Gilmour, Jacek Olter, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Lester Bowie, Adam Pierończyk, Kazik Staszewski, Michał Urbaniak, Tomasz Stańko, Grammatik and others.
The musician is a laureate of the Ad Astra award, which is granted by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. He also has a Fryderyk and a Polityka Passport to his credit. He has also been praised many times in magazines such as Jazz Forum.

Piotr Wojtasik Quintet

+ Special Guests: Anna Maria Jopek & Leo Richardson

Kings Place | Saturday, 27 September 2025 | 20:00

Piotr Wojtasik – trumpet
Marcin Kaletka – saxophone
Michał Tokaj – piano
Michał Barański – double bass
Łukasz Żyta – drums

Piotr Wojtasik – an undisputed trumpet virtuoso, outstanding improviser, and composer – has been expressing himself through his own unique musical language for over 40 years. He has recorded and performed across most European countries, as well as in Morocco, Israel, Canada, the United States, Japan, and India. He maintains ongoing collaborations with musicians such as John Betsch, Joris Teepe, Viktor Tóth, Steven McCraven, Nicolas Simion, Michał Barański, Michał Miśkiewicz, Kazimierz Jonkisz, and Michał Tokaj. For years, he has also been regularly invited to perform by legendary saxophonist Billy Harper.

Wojtasik has taken part in numerous special projects alongside global jazz giants such as Kenny Garrett, Joe Lovano, and Archie Shepp. At the same time, he has performed as a sideman in other ensembles that included top-tier musicians such as Victor Lewis, George Cables, Kirk Lightsey, and Joe LaBarbera.

He is one of the few Polish musicians who are consistently invited to participate in international projects, such as the Michel Donato Quintet and the European Jazz Ensemble. He has appeared as a guest artist on dozens of albums and has released 14 of his own, which have been highly acclaimed by critics and music lovers alike.

His albums Circle and Hope received the prestigious Fryderyk Award from the Polish music industry. Most of his other releases have also been nominated, including VOICES – an album of original compositions for jazz septet and synagogue choir. Wojtasik himself has received two Fryderyk Awards, in 2003 and 2008, in the category Jazz Musician of the Year. He has also repeatedly topped the Jazz Top rankings of Jazz Forum magazine.

https://www.facebook.com/piotrwojtasikmusic/

Alice Zawadzki

PizzaExpress Jazz Soho | Sunday, 28 September 2025  | 13:00

Alice Zawadzki (voice, violin)
Jonny Mansfield (vibraphone)
Tom Mason (double bass)

With warmth, magic, and invention at the core, the award-winning singer, violinist and composer Alice Zawadzki shares a new direction and sound, presenting trio with vibraphonist Jonny Mansfield, and bassist Tom Mason. Described by MOJO Magazine as “something of a phenomenon”, Alice’s musical style draws upon her classical training as a violinist, her constant exploration of improvised and roots music and an early immersion into New Orleans jazz and gospel. A multi-lingual singer, her devotion to the art of storytelling creates rich ground for unique and heartfelt performances, with Jazzwise Magazine declaring that “her lustrous vocal range is the real live deal. A commanding, intense performer.”

Signed recently to ECM Records, Alice’s 2024 album release Za Górami, with Fred Thomas and Misha Mullov-Abbado, was described by Bayerischer Rundfunk Radio as “a model of cliché-free beauty and gossamer fine musical communication.” Alice has received recognition from both the jazz and classical industries, being made Vocalist of the Year by Jazz FM in 2025, and shortlisted as Singer of the Year by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2024.

In her new collaboration, a distinct sound world opens with endless possibilities, the colours of the vibraphone bringing luminosity as well film noir, a perfect foil to Alice’s velvety voice. At the helm is celebrated vibraphonist Jonny Mansfield, described by Jazz Journal as possessing “dynamic finesse and rhythmic flexibility of the highest order”. To complete the picture, is the exquisite bass playing of Tom Mason, whose talents have seen him collaborate with Questlove, Lizz Wright, Mark Ronson, Anoushka Shankar, and Robert Mitchell, to name just a few.

“She is a genuine original” – The Guardian (UK)
“Zawadzki’s talent is bursting at the seams. An exceptional, world-class singer” – Written in Music (Netherlands)
“The missing link between Ghost in the Machine-era Police and Hissing of Summer Lawns-era Joni Mitchell… lush and dynamically shifting…fascinating and stunningly original” – New York Music Daily (USA)

Aga Zaryan Trio

+ Special Guest: Ant Law

PizzaExpress Jazz Soho | Sunday, 28 September 2025 | 20:00

Aga Zaryan ‘s creativity is the quintessence of that which is finest in the history of jazz, a continuation of the tradition of legendary accomplishments by female jazz vocalists.
The Artist owes her worldwide recognition to a unique style, with a characteristic lightness of phrasing and a warm, matte tone of voice.

She was the first Polish artist to release records under New York’s legendary Blue Note Records label. With this, the Artist joined names such as: Norah Jones, Nina Simone, Miles Davis and Bobby McFerrin.

Aga Zaryan is a recipient of the most important awards in the music world, recognized as one of Poland’s finest jazz vocalists (a many-time winner of Jazz Forum magazine’s Jazz Top poll – in the Jazz Vocalist of The Year category).

The record-breaking sales of her albums show that ambition, and a sublime style, allow her to reach a wide-ranging community of listeners. The Artist wins the hearts of audiences, performing all over the world.

Aga Zaryan is also actively involved in a number of social causes, being a PAH Ambassador and an associate of KPH, among other things. For her activism, she was awarded the Star of Charity in 2017.

This year, Aga Zaryan was recognized as the best jazz vocalist in the Jazz Top 2024 survey, organized by the “Jazz Forum” magazine. This is another prestigious award in her career.

Sławek Uniatowski

+ Special Guest: Poppy Daniels

PizzaExpress Jazz Soho | Monday, 29 September 2025 | 20:00

Vocalist, composer, lyricist, multi-instrumentalist. Born on May 11, 1984 in Toruń, he began his adventure with keyboard instruments at the age of five. As a teenager, he began composing and writing song lyrics, co-founded the Toruń band Kije, in which he composed and played synthesizers. At the end of 2008, he founded the band Uniatowski Project. Uniatowski was the only vocalist from Poland to have had the pleasure of performing on one stage alongside the biggest American music producer – David Foster. He has collaborated with such stars as Zbigniew Wodecki, Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz, Kuba Badach. He has given concerts in Poland and abroad with big bands, performing the repertoire of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat “King” Cole, Chet Baker and Ella Fitzgerald. In June 2018, he took part in the Premiere Competition at the Opole Festival, during which he performed a song from “5 rano”. In October 2024 he released his latest album “Uniatowski”.